Lollapalooza Becomes “Mudapalooza” After Severe Storm Evacuation

When the gates reopened after about a two hour delay, Lollapalooza concert-goers rushed across Michigan Avenue chanting “USA, USA, USA.” So, where did around 100,000 people go when they had to evacuate the festival grounds? There were three evacuation shelters provided by Lollapalooza, but most decided to hit up the nearest restaurant or hotel lobby to wait it out.

Once the sea of fans made it back inside, the first stop was the huge puddles of mud in the concert fields. It seemed as if this was the best way to cope with the disappointment of missing some of the acts that were bumped. A group of two young boys and their chaperone went to McDonald’s to hide from the storm, and then came back to find out they wouldn’t get to see who they wanted to. However, they were glad they even got to come back, and rolled around in the mud at the Perry’s stage to lighten their spirits.

This isn’t the first time Lollapalooza was dampened by bad weather. Last year it also rained, but the grounds were never closed. It cost over $1 million to repair Grant Park.

This year, the attendees got to dance in the mud again, treating the ground as a natural slip-and-slide, and grabbing each others’ legs to swing each other in the air.